Letter-sheet.



PATENTBD DEC 3, 1907.

R. REED. LETTER SHEET.

APPLIOATION FILED my 31, 1907.

witnesgfs: M gventor LU 2 71. 5. [5M 1 Attorney RALPH REED, or MIDDLETOWN, 0131c.

LE TER-smear.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, RALPH REED a citizen of the Umted States, residi at Middleto'wn,

.Butler county, Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Sheets,

I Improvements 'in Letterof which the following is a specifics;

This invention, perte as improve ments in that class of letter-s eets provi for self-sealing, be readily understo'o fromthe following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in whichz- Figures 1 to 8 inclusive illustrate my irmproved letter sheet when foldedtoform a packet of what I will term husinessshape, while Figsvf to 15 inclusiveiillustratethe same sheet when folded to forms packet of what I will term polite shape.

By a. letter or-packet of business shape I mean one-whose'le his very much greater than its width,'as,d1stin fshed from whatl call the polite sha e in'w 'ch the lengthandwidth may i er ut little or not at all from each other. v

Somelettr sheets, otherwise admirable, present at some point of the packet a lacewhere by slight manipulation and-wit. out damage to t e packet some portionof the interior writing may be inspected, and other defect of requiring two or more gumrned flaps to be closed, and other sheets, otherwise admirable, have the defect of involving co'n-.

siderable waste of material. -In my improved letter sheet the inteliorsurfaces of the packet are quite inaccessible, and hutone gummed fla requires to be dealt with, and

the waste 0 material is so trifling as to be negligible. Furthermore, my improved sheet we l ends. itself to being folded so as to form a packet :of either buslness shape or polite shape, 'selectively. Inthedra'wmgs I show the. flatsheetand then the result of lthe successivefoldings, and'at eachstage I illustrate the folding line for-the succeeding fold- Ing. All of the foldi lines. may, if desired, be creased upon the s eet in the process of manufacture, but. this is neither essential or specially desirable.

In the drawing, 'vin con "deration to Figs. 1 to 8 exclusive y, 1 il, ustrates the flat'sheet having at one edge a flap 1 providedwith gum 2 and extending from one edge of the sh'eet.to about half-we 'to the oppoeite edget ,4, indicates anote at the Specification of Letters Patent. 7

- Application filed May 3111907- Serial No. 3763480- flap becomes provided Patented Dec. 3,1907.

1 whereby that a flap-tail.v It is manifest that, in cuttin such a sheet from larger stock, the flapless ocality 3 will correouter end of gummed flalp Wit , spond with the flap 1 of any other sheet, the

consequence'being that the notch 4, which is of inconsiderable area, represents the entire wastage of'inaterial; 5 represents the first folding line, while 6 and 7 represent sheetportions on opposite sides of that line. As the first step, portion 7 is to be folded over anddown onto portion'fi', the folding taking place on line 5. This puts the structure in the condition shown in Fig. 2.

Proceeding to Fig 2,- 8 indicates the second folding line. The part to the right of that line. is to be folded over and down onto the part to the left .of the line. This leaves the structure in the condition illustrated in 'Fi 3. l l

%oing to Fig. 3, 9 indicates'the third fold ing line. The part 10 is now to be folded over and down onto the part11, the folding taking placeon the line 9. This puts the structure into the form shown in Fig; 4. Going to.Fig. 4, 12 indicates the fourth folding line. The part 13 is to be folded over and down onto thep art 14, the folding taking place on line 12. his puts the structure into the condition. illustrated in Fig.-;"5. letter sheets, otherwise admirable, have the onto ast-1,3 and stuckthere, the foldingtakin t e condition shown in g. 6.

The gum 2 is to be moistened andthen flap 1 is; to be folded-over and down ace on line 15. .Thisfiputs; the structure 1 Going to Fig. ,17 indicates the sixthfolding. line. The packet is now to be turned .over and lie '-ta11 19 is to be folded over and down onto t 0 body of the packet and stuck there, this folding taln'ng place on line 17 and leaving the structure complete as indicated in Fig. 7. The 'packetis now ready for the address and the stamp, and a stamp may, if desiredfire stuck over theflap-tail 19.

' Fig. 8 illustrates the addressed and stamped packet. An analysis of the conditions will show that the'two long edges of the packet are com 'letely closed, and that the end opposite t e flap-tail, while open, glves no acsheet as will be apprecia ed from anins eccess whatever to the in erior surface'ofthe tion of Fig. 4, and that the opposite .en of the acket has a'portionof its extent sealed by t e fla '-tail, while the, remaining portion is .thoroug y guarded by the flap-10, seen in Fig. 4, this fla itself being,'in the finished acket, so hel by the general binding efected by the gummedflap that it is im ossible to withdraw it outwardly so as-to e ect any exposure-whatever of the interior surface of the sheet. against exposure is concerned, the packet is in no sense inferior to an ordinar sealed envelop. Figs. '9 to 15 inclusive, i ustrate the same sheet, but folded differently so as to produce a packet of polite shape. In Fig. 9, which indicates the sheet, part 20 is to be folded over and down onto part 21, the fold being on line 22, thus producing a condition illustrated in Fig. 10.

Going to Fig. 10, part 23 is to be folded" putting the structure into the condition showninFig. 13. v

Going to Fig. 13, and assuming the packet to be turned over, flap-tail 19 is to oe folded over and stuck down. on the body of the packet, the fold taking place on line 17, thus completing the packet as indicated 'in Fi 14, ready forthe address and stamp whic puts it in the condition indicated in Fig. 15. An analysis of the'result-of the folding will show that this packet possesses the same element of positive secunty that obtained with reference tot-he packet of business shape.

Indeed, so far as security wn onto'part 29 and stuck there, the folding being on line 30 and .iBigs. 8 and 15 illustrate, respectively, thebusiness and the polite shape of packet as arrived at from the" sheet proprortioned as in- \dicated in Fig. 1 0r Fig. 9. he sheet may, if desired, be soroportioned as to secure, in the packet of po its shape, equal dimensions for its sides'and ends.

While it is possible, and'even desirable in some cases, to so proportion the sheet that it will lend itself to either the business shape or polite shape of packet, no sacrifices are necessary in this regard for it is manifest that a sheet may be. so proportioned as to adapt it to one desired shape of packet without re- 4 gard to whether or not it will lend itself to any alternative sha e of packet.

In the drawing t e notch 4 is triangular, resulting in an angular tail-flap, capable of being entirely covered by a postage stamp. The notch may, if desired, be a mere slit so that the end flap has a more liberal area and regular sha e, in which case the tail-flap would be a apted to have a postage stamp im essed directly upon-it.

claim: I v V y I A letter-sheet having a rectangular bodyportion having a gummed flap rejecting laterally from one end of one e ge to a point about midway of the length of that edge, the outer end extremity of the fla being notched inwardly from .the end of t e flap and the free long edge of the flap be' parallel with the edge of the body-portion om which it pro'ects, the sheet being adapted to be folded an sealed as set forth.

. a RALPH REED. W1tnes'ses:

' H. H. HA'rorr, H. D. Heron 

